Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Bright CR Flake

The Bright CR Flake is my favorite Virginia flake.

This nice tobacco is being pushed aside by the famous Full Virginia Flake of Samuel Gawith, and in my opinion having not the acceptance it deserves.

Opening the bulk bag of this tobacco I prime the lightness perfume of "Lakeland". It is a natural aroma, not an artificial one and as I learned that "secret" aroma is coming from the flower of the plant Geranium Rose {"Rose Geranium"} (Pelargonium Graveolens).

The bright colour flakes, "shiny" and "tawny", are nicely chopped, and can be rubbed very easily and comfortably filled the bowl of the pipe.

Varieties of Virginia tobaccos from Brazil, Zimbabwe and Malawi ripen to give a light and creamy taste. Gentle to moderate nicotine, can comfortably be the first morning pipe smoking of the day.

Delicious, with flavors alternating the natural aroma of tobacco and dry alfalfa hay, wet soil (sense of earthy soil after rain), with brief "passages" of pepper, flowers and fruits (I taste somewhere citron) but also some suspicion of cinnamon and anise.

All these result from the excellent quality of tobacco combined to make this beautiful flake rather than adding artificial fragrances. The "Lakeland" aroma sense I think it originates from the common area of production, ripening and storage of tobacco Gawith & Hoggarth. Some smokers call it "soapiness", I still did not felt it at all bad as a perfume, imperceptible to light, with an especially pleasant feeling of flowers and fruits.

By drying the tobacco yields even better, offering comfortable and pleasant smoking that can be enjoyed throughout the day.

Smoked without terrible swings and delicious surges from the top to the bottom of the bowl, some smokers may characterize it as drab or one-dimensional, I again found it delicious and very enjoyable from start to finish smoking it.

Not "bite" at all, it creates no liquid and leaves "clean" light gray ash finishes and staining very little the pipe filter.

In long-term ageing, it gets "sugars" (creating crystal sugars in the flakes) and gives an even more complex flavor, slightly sweet, creamy smoke.

I am smoking the Bright CR Flake in pipes of all types and materials (straight, bent, half bent, with filter and without filter, made by briar, olive wood, pear wood and corn combs) always enjoying a very good and enjoyable smoking.

Perhaps those smokers who are looking for more "loud" nicotine hit and stronger flavor intensity Virginia tobaccos may not be extremely charmed by Bright CR Flake.

I certainly appreciate this Virginia flake a lot and consider it an excellent pipe tobacco of highest quality that can be smoked very pleasant every time of day or night!

Highly recommended!

Bright CR is one of (if not the) lightest G&H blends I have had the pleasure to smoke. It won't beat up the tongue and palate, but certainly has enough flavor to satisfy. I smoked it a variety of ways but fully rubbed out and dried for an hour or so before loading up seemed to work best. It's a little steamy if smoked moist, IMO.

If you appreciate Lakeland style flavor in lighter doses, Bright CR would make a fine choice.

The Lakeland topping is floral, but not strong. The grassy/hay-like tangy citrusy sweet Virginia also has light earth, wood and fruit notes, plus a slight acidic hit. The strength is just past the center of mild to medium, while the taste is a slot past that mark. The nic-hit is a tad short of the center of mild to medium. Won't bite, but it does need to sipped a little for best effect. Burns fairly cool, very clean and a little slow although the flake isn't as dense as some can be. No real complexity to speak of here, but it does have a very consistent sweet, grassy, floral flavor from start to finish. Requires a few relights, and leaves little moisture in the bowl. Has a pleasantly lingering after taste and room note. It can be an all day smoke.

-JimInks

Nice presentation of light-colored virginia flake. This was a small bulk purchase. Very, very slight Lakeland aroma in the bag.

I agree that this is a light-tasting flake, probably the lightest in the G&H stable that I've smoked. Not a ton of flavor, this is a mild version of the basic Lakeland flake, minus the florals. Certainly less flavorful than any of the G&H or SG flakes that I've smoked. No bite even when provoked, although it can get a trifle testy and bitter. The flavor is grassy and lacks the usual virginia character I'm familiar with from this blender. It's also lacking anything resembling complexity. Just a nice, steady smoke for those who want to sample a virginia flake from this region without getting the floral, flavored character famously associated with G&H. There is the faintest trickle of that character but it goes away quickly.

There are many, many fine Virginia flakes on the market. This is far from the best but it's not the worst, either. Worth a sample for those that prefer a mild, grassy flavor that won't overwhelm. I'm giving this 3 stars for what it is but it's probably more of a 2 for my personal taste. Just not enough going on for me.

I don't think this flake is exactly light. It is a fairly mild and simple Virginia flake though, and kind of reminds me of a milder version of FVF. I got the full 17.5 oz. box because it was on sale, and was greeted by nearly perfect 6'' flakes when I opened it. I promptly cut them in thirds and stuffed them into a couple mason jars to age, and have enjoyed a few bowls thus far. This is the essence of an unflavored Lakeland (there is a slight hint of a scent, probably from being in the same room as the likes of Ennerdale Flake!) and offers a pure (African and South American) Virginia experience. Don't look for complexity here, but lovers of Virginia flake with no added flavors will rejoice! I will add more if this shows me new facets after a couple years in the jar, but for now, just good, clean VA smoke, and I'm so glad GH is around to deliver (deliver being the operative word) a flake like this to the US when SG can't, or won't do so.

Update 3-4-12: I love this stuff, but I hate myself for not buying more than one pound (well, 500g) last summer when it was $43 a pound and not over $60! It has even improved a bit since then in the jar. Opening the jar, it kind of smells to me like fine tea. The appearance of the flake is beautiful; fine sugar crystals when you move it around under the light, a "furry" look and feel around the edges, but not mold; some kind of breakdown of the tobacco in the aging process. Indeed, this flake has a nice, almost meaty texture when rubbing it out. It's one of the finest Virginia flakes I've smoked, and the slight hint of Lakeland scents one gets from time to time, as I said in my original review, is probably only due to merely being in the same room as such tobaccos as Ennerdale and Kendal Flake...

While doing a year end cleaning of my pipe room, to my wife’s delight I might add, I came upon an ounce of Bright CR. It had been sitting for two years in a jelly jar that was not airtight. As one would image, it was dry as a bone. But after reading comments here on TR about smoking it dry, I stuffed a pipe and wow! I have always enjoyed many of the GH blends, but I tend to lean more to the darker or more cased GH blends. This is by far the lightest GH blend I have smoked thus far. The unique Virginia flavor, I believe, is from the processing of this blend or the origin of the leaf (or both) rather than a topping. The flavor for me is on the medium to full side of things. It’s lightly sweet and complex all the way to the end of the bowl. I enjoy this far more than FVF. I can only imagine how good this blend must be when properly aged. Great stuff!

This blend is a real sleeper. It's composed of 6" long flakes that are sliced perfectly thin. I usually rub them out a little and then just stuff them in my pipe. One flake goes a long way towards filling my largest pipes. CR Flake is composed of exotic Virginias that have just a touch of that floral taste.

This tobacco is really a treat for me and I don't smoke it every day; one could get spoiled very easily. It's not too complex, but the flavor is remarkable; it contains just the right combination of Virginias. Smoke this one slowly and appreciate its delicate sweetness.

This is my favorite of the Gawith, Hoggarth & Co flakes thus far, barely edging out Bob's Chocolate for that top spot. I discovered it later than some of the others as I've worked my way through the forty-odd blends that are available from Gawith Hoggarth & Co.

Though others have compared it to Samuel Gawith blends, that's not what I'm getting here. It brighter (visually and on the palate) than most of the English style flakes that I've tried. In many respects, it reminds me more of North German style flakes in some respects. It's still obviously an English style flake-- the predominantly African & South American virginia leaf that constitutes this blend have their own character (a slightly more woody taste? Or is it my imagination?). That said, the lighter body of smoke and generally brighter characteristics on the palate are vaguely reminiscent of (if not necessarily similar to) Heinrich's Golden Sliced or Reiner Long Golden Flake (without the Perique) or Orlik Golden Sliced (without that slight honey top-note). Simply, it seems like an English style flake, made with English flake components in an English way, but styled on a German style flake (does that make any sense at all?).

Anyway, I love it. It's something of a best of both worlds for me. I love virginia flakes-- from both England and Germany/Denmark (without nitpicking, the Germany/Denmark flakes can probably be broken down into a number of sub-categories, but the macro-category suffices for this comparison).

We’re so lucky, over here in the U.K., to get our mitts readily on Gawith and Germain tobaccos. I recently bought about ten samples, some to my liking, some not. This offering I particularly enjoy. From the packet, golden flakes of pure Virginia waft delectably into the olfactory apparatus. None of that Lakeland thing, which can often be sickly and overwhelming. Slightly moist, but no hindrance to packing and lighting. No touch ups or relights required and absolutely no bight whatsoever. It’s nice just once in a while to enjoy a tobacco that hasn’t been blended with the intention of stupefying the smoker with a myriad of philosophical nuances. Just straight forward medium tasting Virginia, which I often crave. FVF seems to be one of the Holy grails in the pipe word and comparing the two, I much prefer this. So, after half an hour of bliss, I can heartily say that this is my favourite straight Virginia, so far! The room note is highly agreeable to the missus, praise the Lord, so without any hesitation, I highly recommend this beauty and will be purchasing more, albeit at a ridiculously high price, here in what is still Great Britain, but only just.

Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. - Bright CR Flake.

The flakes are medium in build, nicely hydrated, and easy to rub, but it smokes equally as well folded and stuffed.

The burn is faultless, as is the temperature from it. The smoke has a milder Virginia flavour, with a very mild Lakeland topping. It gives a recognizable character, without monopolizing the smoke. The delicately added flavour works pleasantly alongside the easy-going flavour from the Va: it isn't too sharp, but quite calm and sweet tasting. I can't see this biting anybody, it's comfortable beyond belief!

Nicotine: mild. Room-note: pleasant.

This is a nice enough smoke, albeit, it becomes a touch boring after a while. Still, for the quality it gets three stars:

Recommended.